0 items in basket
Tasting Wine you are looking for three things, - colour, smell or nose, and flavour.
Step One – Eyes
Look at the wine in the glass most importantly it should be clear look down the centre of the wine to see the intensity of colour. Tilt the wine away from you slightly; look at the colour variation from the rim to the centre of the glass. You may want to put a plain white background behind, a sheet of paper will do! Look again at the colour of the wine the glossier the colour and more subtle it’s colour variations the higher the quality of the wine.
Step Two – Nose
Take a sniff with all your concentration then swirl the wine around and sniff once more. You may then want to swirl it around again and cover the glass with your hand for a moment before sniffing again to trap the aromas. Try and attach words to the smell, it makes it easier to remember. Try and note how the smell changes with time as you smell and drink the wine, with a good wine the smell will develop and become more interesting a mass produced commercial wine will lose its aroma.
Step Three – Mouth
The best bit - now you get to taste the wine. Take a good mouthful and distribute it over all the taste buds on the tongue and the inside of the cheeks. Different taste buds are attuned for different flavours; the tip of the tongue for sweetness, upper edges for acidity, back of the tongue for bitterness, insides of the cheeks for tannins and the entry to the throat for any burning excess of alcohol. You may also want to draw some air into your mouth over the wine to open the flavours more. Now the choice is yours to spit or swallow!
Remember – wine is a very personal experience there are not rights or wrongs your taste and enjoyment is individual to you. When tasting a wine in a restaurant it is often a good idea to make judgment on the second mouthful, the first may well just have cleaned you palate from your last drink or meal and may not be a true representation of the wine you are trying. Your enjoyment of a wine can also be influenced by mood or surroundings.
